Inspiring wonderful places to grow up and grow old by fostering care communities and care economies for & by neighbors.
I learned about the precautionary principle when I worked at Greenpeace. It says… The lack of evidence of harm isn’t evidence of lack of harm. In other words, just because there isn’t evidence showing that a certain chemical, let’s say, doesn’t do damage, it doesn’t mean that it’s safe. And this principle is used as…Continue reading The Prosperity Principle
PART 1: Eric Frimpong left his wife and crying kids in Ghana to look for work in the States to give them a better life. Eight years passed without him seeing his family, and the last hurdle Eric needed to clear to be reunited with them was significant: gaining U.S. citizenship. Working as a maintenance…Continue reading Recognizing quiet (but important) contributions
PART 1: Two years back, I got a daily video lesson for “A Course in Miracles” by email from Marianne Williamson. When discussing a certain lesson—“Let me forget my brother’s past today.”—Marianne put a slight twist on it: “You are born again any time you don’t bring your past with you.” And if there were…Continue reading What miracles could we make if we forgot?
If you get Tiny Village Mail, you may have seen my recent tip to GIVE a request for help. I made the point that… It’s generous (if not wise) to think of everyone as having something to give and making opportunities for them to do so, especially when it comes to folks at risk of…Continue reading Starting villages with what’s strong, not wrong
This story is about coming alive, not bashing the government. In fact, I worked for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services—at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and later in the Office of Inspector General (OIG)—and found that feds in my orbit seemed driven by what drove me: A deep and sincere…Continue reading Are we truly serious about healing and living long & healthy lives?
Last time, I said that my mother only does as well as I can care for her. It’s a kindness, then, for me as a caregiver—and you, if it applies—to care for myself by saying “no” judiciously. After too long of saying yes too much when caring for my father when he was alive, I…Continue reading I made caregiving miracles by saying no
As a daughter, my mother is my mother. As a family caregiver, my mother is my customer / client: she gets services from me. As a village maker, neighbors are my primary customers. Or people who’ll “buy into” caring for folks nearby. The idea for Vertical Village Alliance grew directly from my childhood as an…Continue reading Making what’s missing to serve your “customers”
I told a friend that I’m ditching the phrase “care crisis,” which I picked up from someone else in the first place. That isn’t to say that all is well in the world of care, but that problems and solutions can’t occupy our brains at the same time. When we call something a crisis, we…Continue reading Care crisis or prosperity opportunities?
It was obvious once I heard it but, to my embarrassment, it hadn’t occurred to me before: When Black people were fighting to sit at the front of the bus, people with disabilities were fighting to get on the damned things. Fast forward many years from my “how didn’t I see that?” moment ’til now….Continue reading Working until death: a fate for many with disabilities
There’s a saying that goes, “If you want to take the island, burn the boats.” Attributed to different people, it means “if you’re determined to advance, eliminate your means of retreat.” Like when I quit my job vs. taking a sick leave of absence: the latter would have let me return easily if the going…Continue reading Making a minimum viable village